Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz arrived in Warsaw today for a state visit to Poland. The historic visit is the first-ever by a Saudi king to Poland.

In an interview published today by the Arabic daily Okaz, Polish President Lech Kaczynski described the visit as “historic and important,” and said that he expects it to boost bilateral relations in all areas.

Kaczynski said that his country fully backs the revival of the Arab Peace Initiative, which was proposed by then-Crown Prince Abdullah and approved at the 2002 Arab summit in Beirut.

In the interview, the Polish president praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts to bring stability and peace to the region as well as its “massive” counterterrorism efforts. He also expressed appreciation for King Abdullah’s sponsorship of a separation surgery for two Polish conjoined twins in 2005.

The King’s visit to Poland is the third stop on a five-nation tour that has already included visits to Spain and France. Tomorrow, the King will visit Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak on key regional issues and bilateral cooperation. He will conclude his tour with a visit to Jordan on Wednesday for crucial talks about the region.